Miss Michelle

K, I am gonna turn up the heat for a sec....:thumbup: My newest NSV: Last night during the middle of sex w/ DH, he picked me up to switch positions. Just in case you missed that-HE PICKED ME UP! Of couse it freaked me out and I screamed put me down because I still suffer from fat girl syndrom. I am trying to let go of my issues but I still see myself as that chick who still carries the 102 lbs I have lost so far. I am working to get over it and, *ahem*, maybe a few more lbs and I will request to be picked up :thumbup:

2 MAJOR NSV'S FOR ME, PLEASE! 1. OK, I may have cried :tongue: in the shoe section of my local department store yesterday! For me this is a HUGE NSV!!! For years I have been dying for a sexy pair of tall, pointy toe black leather boots -think: the friends episode where Monica spends like $1200 on a really hot pair of boots and they were gorgeous but she couldnt walk in them and Chandler ended up having to give her a piggy back ride around NY. Anyway i could never find a pair that I could zip up over my calves...That is until yesterday! YAY! And they are not even wide width or made for large calves!!! They are so cute, I cried!! I even made hubby take pictures of them on me in the middle of the shoe section and send them to my mom's cell phone for her to see, lol! 2. According to my newest BMI reading, I am OBESE. Yes, I know most people would not be happy with being called obese, but for me, coming from MORBIDLY OBESE, being just obese..this is HUGE! CAUSE I AM NOT SO HUGE ANYMORE, YAY CHIQUITA!!! (Chiquita is my band, hehe...) Keep it up May Flowers and Shrinko De Mayo's we are doing GREAT :sad_smile:

I think all of our DH's react differently to us being banded but most have these reactions I think becauswe they are scared. Maybe because they do get comfortable with how and who we WERE. I dont think he is intentionally trying to sabatoge you, but I do think that he is a man who is worried about how the band might change you, and more than just phsyically. Luckily my hubbys is not forcing my favorite foods on me but at one point I felt like he was in a way competing with me. About four months post op he started going to the gym at 5am before work and then again after work. Sometimes he even went more than twice a day, it was rediculous! Once when a friend noticed his 20 lb loss he said "Well, someones got to keep up with Michelle". That remarked made me so mad and I didnt get why he was looking at it that way. My mom says he is worried that I will get skinny and leave him like my cousins wife did. (She had gastric bypass and then started cheating on him after losing over 100 lbs-although I cant just blame her, I mean they had to have some marital issues that were kept quiet in order for this to happen, right?) Lets face it. Unfortunately we live in a world where the majority of people do not look at us fat chicks as attractive or beautiful. As pretty as my hubby thought I was, I honestly believe that he didnt think he had to worry about looks from other men or me being hit on before being banded. He was comfortable. I have lost a lot of weight since my surgery in May and recently, it has been much more noticeable. I can already see that he is not used to me getting attention from others. Its made him very nervous and he started acting strange like with the gym thing and then calling me at work like 6 million times a day. I finally had to tell him that Yes, I did this for me but my surgery in a way was for us too-my family and he needed to relax before his actions seriously started causing us relationship problems. Since then thngs have been better. I guess just talk to him and tell him that you need him to be supportive now more than ever. And just because you cant or dont want to eat certain foods anymore doesnt mean that you expect him not to too. Oh, and tell him to pick up after the dogs too, lol! Good Luck!!

I still have 65-70 lbs to go before I am at my goal weight, but I have begun researching Plastic Surgeons and costs so that I can really start saving. I came across Dr. Kolker's website and his before and after photos are AMAZING. I was wondering if anyone out there has used or heard of him? Thanks!:cursing:

I am so excited about an East Coast Conferance! I'd prefer NYC but I would do either NY or NJ!

DH has been acting really strange lately. He keeps complaining about everything I buy for myself which I could understand if I were spending alot of money or if he was conservative with his. He is a Jordan fan, you know those $150+ sneakers and owns dozens. This has always been a sore spot for me since I believe that buying a new pair every month is a waste of money especially since he very very rarely wears any of them. Anyways the point is I have been shopping alot for me lately but- because I am-yay me-changing sizes I am not interested in spending alot of money on any one item. I havent even bought a winter coat yet becuase I am trying to get one at the cheapest price since I am hoping I will not be wearing the same size next winter. I have been doing alot of shopping at Marshalls and AJ Wright, etc. I mean literally I have not spent more than $19.99 on pants! How can anyone be upset with that? I also am a manager at work and have to look the part. I cant be walking around with droopy elephant ass becuase my pants are too big, ya know? :biggrin: Well things got really aggrivating when last week I cleaned my closet out for the 2nd time since surgery. He kept making comments about, "hey- cant you shrink that, cant you have that taken in?" I know he was joking and trying to be funny about it but Damn it- let me have my moment! This is the first time in a long time that I am spending a little money on myslef, dont I deserve it? Am I overreacting-I am very moody lately- or is he being an ass?

I have been banded for over 5 months now and am down over 80 lbs but still cant find mine. I was convinced I felt it to the left of my belly button after sugery. To my surprise, its actually to the right of it. Atleast I know because this is where my doc puts the needles for my fills. I am at 243, so I am thinking that hopefully another 10-20lbs and I will be able to feel it for myself. GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!

I had surgery on 5/23 at NYU and was operated on by Dr. George Fielding. He's my hero!!! Office is frantic and always packed but well worth it for the class of surgeons like Fielding, Ren and Kurian. I love my surgeon but know that they are all great.

I had to clean out my closet today of all the clothes that no longer fit...for the SECOND TIME since surgery!!!:thumbup:

I have the opposite problem. I am 6 months post op and am down a little over 80lbs so I am def feeling better about myself and my appearance but my sex drive has gone WAY down. Its starting to make my hubby crazy. I mean, he still gets some once a week, twice if he's lucky but no where nearly as much as before. I don't get it...... Am I BROKEN?!? :thumbup:

Hello World! I am so excited to be begining this journey, finally! My name is Michelle, and I am a 25 year old wife and mother of one (which at this time is quite enough, lol) living in New York, about a hour and a half north of NYC. My story is pretty standard for most overweight people in many ways. I have been severely overweight nearly my entire life and have fought like hell to just be normal, while always falling just short of success. Everything that I tried has failed in the long term, and after having my son I can say I jsut truly gave up. I focused everything I had on my family and never saw the pounds piling on until it was way too late. As a child, I was on my first medically supervised diet at seven years old, but can remember the doctors comments to my mother well before then about my weight. As if being on a diet and in the second grade was not enough, apparently, my teacher, classmates and their parents also need to know to avoid any cupcake temptaions during school birthday celebrations. Being the only fat girl in class allowed for plenty of merciless taunting, trust me I did not need the assistance of this little fact. One thing I can say is that unlike many obese people, the one thing I do not have against me is heredity. I am the only fat one in a family of truly beautiful people. In fifth grade, when a classmate found out I was related to the gorgeous petite blonde with green eyes in the 8th grade, I was asked something I wll never forget. "You are related to her? What happened to you?" By then I had already heard a million comments and nasty remarks but that one cut me deep. I had realized I was the black sheep in the family when I was little and had to hide in the closet to eat anything around my aunts who always expressed concerns over my ever growing waist line. But to have a stranger point that out in that way hurt. I have been obese for 3/4 of my enitre life and should have realized a million times over that I had lost control. The truth is, it took an innocent comment by my five year old son for me to look in the mirror. I mean, really look. I was laying across my bed, watching tv like I usually am after work, and my son walks into the room and says "ya know, if ya wanna lose weight, all ya gotta do is exercise!" In that moment, my heart sank. Forgetting his age and innocense, I screamed at him "Who told you to tell me that?" Seeing his big beautiful blue eyes staring back at me with concern and confusion, I realized that noone had put him up to that (well, ok that and I may have harassed a few family members about what they knew regarding that comment). He was only telling me what he believed the solution to be. In that moment, I realized that I was not only not living my life to the fullest, but I was causing my son not too either. We have never had a vacation to the beach, I have never been swimming with him in a pool, and the last time my husband finally got me to give in to taking a family photo, he was one. So this is me. And I am taking back my life.

I am finally a bandster! I was banded at NYU by one of the greatest-no wait, maybe the greatest surgeon ever, Dr. George Fielding. I chose him for more than his supurb qualifications, I chose him because he understood me. Hell, at one point he was me. He struggled with his own weight until he was banded himself over what I believe was eight years ago. So to have the choice of a surgeon who was not only a doctor, but also a patient and has truly experianced things as I would eventually, it was a no brainer. Starting at 325lbs, I went through all the neccessary steps and took back my life on May 23, 2008. That day signifies so many things to me now, and in all honesty, maybe more than me taking back control, that was the day Dr. Fielding saved my life. In a little over a month, with the help of my band and my pre-op diet, I am oficially down 33 lbs! I have said goodbye to the 300's on my scale forever and each passing days reassures me that I made the right decision. I returned back to work just after two weeks and am doing well. I am finding that even with a mere thirty pounds gone, I am more active than I have been in a very long while and my clothes are getting to be huge on me! I know this is probably bad, but I have already started buying cute shoes for motivation to get to my goal weight of 165. I have always said that I dont want to be skinny to wear the clothes but I want to be able to wear all of those cute and sexy shoes a 25 year old wears that I never could! Seriously though, I truly believe with everything in my heart and soul that all the sacrifices, all the work and pain, will all be worth it. More than it already is proving to be even now.

I could only sleep on my back with tons of pillows for the first week, week and a half after surgery but once I all the pain was gone I was able to go right back to sleeping on my side and belly.

K, I know I am arriving really late in the game here, but I didnt really look into the conference much since I knew it would be in TX and I live in NY and I just couldnt have taken time off from work recently. Anyways, I saw in the last few pages of postings that there may be one upcoming in NY! How can I find out more about this???? I am super excited!

LOL! No problem! Now I just have to convince my hubby....

Torrid.com has some sexy boots too. They arent as expensive either!!!

My wedding band has been officially retired. It kept falling off, it just doesnt seem to fit anymore.....Know what that means, ladies???? It's time for an UPGRADE!!! WooHoo!

Help! I am having the same problem. And I have fine hair to begin with! I thought about taking over the counter pre-natal vitamins because when I was on them while I was preggers my hair looked great! Any thoughts, anyone?

Yup, there will always be someone to try to talk you out of things you may want to do in life. I just turned 26 in july and was banded 2 months prior. My mom was super supportive but my hubby wasnt at first. He was worried that something would happen to me. At the end of it all, I had to make the right decision for myself, by myself. You will too. GOOD LUCK!!!

This is me 76lbs down so far.. Pre-Op: In Progress: